Relay for Life 2011

Photos Top to Bottom:

The luminaria ceremony with the luminarias honoring and memorializing

cancer warriors spelling out HOPE!

Part of our team cheers and claps for my Dad and me as we complete the Survivor Lap.

Our Relay for Life 2011 team photograph.

My two local oncologists - on the left is my radiation oncologist and on the right is my local

hematologist/oncologist.

A couple of weeks ago our family participated in Relay for Life 2011. Our daughter Marissa worked diligently for the cause and our son-in-law Scott designed the orange (orange is the color for leukemia awareness) shirts for our team. We arrived home from RELAY FOR LIFE at 2 AM since we were scheduled to walk from 11 to midnight. I wonder how we drew that short straw. My Dad surprised me and he and my best friend (both cancer survivors) walked the Survivor Lap with me. The three of us who are cancer survivors wore the purple Survivor Shirts. The son-in-law with his hair spray painted orange is the designer of the shirts and our comic son-in-law. That is not his natural color!

Lil Man kept calling RELAY FOR LIFE "that thingy" . He thought "that thingy" was great fun - balloons, a track to run on, cupcakes, and all kinds of fun for kids. I thought how thankful I was that at his young age of two, his innocence protects him from the gravity of cancer.

RELAY FOR LIFE was held at a local university. The luminaria ceremony was inspiring, heart-wrenching, and hopeful - conflicting emotions all felt at the same time. Cancer patients' families and friends purchased luminaries that were printed with their messages. Some honored those survivors still fighting and others memorialized those who had lost their battle. These were placed around a track that circled the football field, illuminating the night skies. As we turned the third turn on the track, a row of 15 luminarias had my name and messages on them from families and friends. Thank you to all who donated in my honor. It was a memorable event for all of us.